Given full information about the risks of long-term opioid therapy, patients often see the value of exploring other options rather than thinking their physicians are reluctant to prescribe narcotics for fear of litigation or regulatory action.
AMA J Ethics. 2015; 17(3):202-208. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.3.ecas1-1503.
To help a seriously ill young patient whose normal childhood has been disrupted, pediatricians must be more than sympathetic professionals in white coats—they must know how to motivate each patient and then go the extra mile to do so.
AMA J Ethics. 2015; 17(5):461-464. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.5.msoc1-1505.
Using data from comparative effectiveness studies to inform cost-effectiveness analyses or other economic evaluations would strengthen ethical policy making.
AMA J Ethics. 2015; 17(7):651-655. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.7.pfor1-1507.
My most important job is to help my patients (and their families) who are depressed, grieving, or angry following severe injury or illness to imagine possible narratives for the next chapter of life.
AMA J Ethics. 2015; 17(6):500-505. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.6.ecas1-1506.
Clinicians can support shared decision making by assessing patients’ knowledge, eligibility for screening, and preferences for engagement—active, collaborative, or passive—in the decision making process.
AMA J Ethics. 2015; 17(7):601-607. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.7.ecas1-1507.
Bias toward allopathic medicine in the research funding and publication of study results makes it difficult for physicians and others to find accurate data about the efficacy of non-Western, nonallopathic treatments.
An examination of some of the factors that can weaken the therapeutic nature of the patient-physician relationship and how a physician can resolve them in the patient's best interest.
When patients request drugs for nonmedical reasons, the most effective intervention may be to explore with the patient his or her reasons for using drugs to make lifestyle changes.